Research activities at the Department of Biology cover a wide range of disciplines including microbial biochemistry, biotechnology and molecular genetics, population biology and ecology, conservation biology, and natural resource and environmental management.
Our ongoing research activities provide numerous opportunities for both undergraduate and postgraduate students to participate in cutting-edge research.
Our research interests
Prof. Victor Axiak
- Marine ecotoxicology
- Environmental management
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Prof. Joseph A. Borg
- Ecological assessment and monitoring
- Marine ecology
- Aquaculture-environment interactions
- Ecology of seagrass and algal habitats
- Crustacean ecology
- Anthropogenic impacts on marine and terrestrial habitats
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Prof. Joseph Buhagiar
- Applied biotechnology
- Bioactivity of natural products
- Utilisation of natural resources
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Dr Marisa Cassar
- Biotechnology
- Molecular genetics
- DNA profiling and sequencing
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Dr Simeon Deguara
- Nutritional requirements of aquaculture species
- Feed formulations
- Development of new aquaculture species
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Dr Julian Evans
- Structural and functional ecology of communities
- Population biology and behavioural ecology (ethology)
- Ecophysiology
- Marine invasion biology
- Biological monitoring
- Experimental design and quantitative analysis of biological data
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Dr Leyla Knittweis
- Fisheries science and natural resource management
- Fish biology
- Population dynamics
- Marine spatial planning
- Marine litter especially from fisheries
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Prof. Sandro Lanfranco
- Vegetation ecology
- Algal ecology and taxonomy
- Metacommunity ecology
- Freshwater ecology
- Ecological field technique
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Prof. Patrick J. Schembri
- Marine benthic ecology
- Impact of environmental change on Mediterranean coastal and marine biodiversity
- Faunistics of the Maltese Islands with particular reference to biogeography
- Human impact on Mediterranean island ecosystems
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Prof. Adriana Vella
- Biodiversity: Terrestrial and Marine - Genetic and Species diversity in diverse ecosystems
- Conservation areas and their management
- Conservation genetics, Molecular genetics and Phylogenetics
- Fisheries and conservation of marine resources
- Vulnerable species and habitat assessments for conservation
- Recreational fishing and coastal marine conservation
- Impacts of a changing marine environment: spreading of alien species, jellyfish blooming, sound pollution
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Dr Gabrielle Zammit
- Microbiology and phycology
- Microbial diversity & systematics
- The microbial deterioration of various materials
- Microbial biochemistry
- Microbial biotechnology
- Genetics, genomics and bioinformatics
- Metabolites and natural products
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